The Book of
Genesis 12
20 verses≈ 4 min4 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promiseChapter 12
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed on
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for good
The Call of Abram
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all the families of the earth will be blessed through you
Genesis 12:3
So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan.
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
From Ur to Canaan
Abram’s family first came from Ur in the far south of Mesopotamia (usually placed by the old course of the Euphrates). They had stopped at Haran in the north. Now Abram leaves Haran and sets out “for the land of Canaan,” some 400 miles to the south-west. Egypt, further on, is where the famine will soon take him.
When they came to the land of Canaan,
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
The promise in three parts
Whiteboard
God’s call is one long run of “I will.” Under it lie three gifts: a land, a people from Abram’s own line, and blessing reaching every family on earth. At Shechem God adds, “I will give this land to your offspring.” The rest of Genesis is these three promises coming true.
From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Through the land
Abram walks the length of the land God has promised. First the Oak of Moreh at Shechem, in a valley between two mountains; then the hill country “with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east” (Ai’s site is uncertain); then south, stage by stage, toward the dry Negev.
Reflect
Without a map
God said, “go to the land I will show you,” and did not say where. “So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him.” He was seventy-five, and he left his country, his kindred and his father’s household. What is God asking you to trust Him with, before you can see where it leads? Write it down.
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
0:20
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh. He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
Pray
When fear makes the plan
Abram had just built altars and called on the name of the LORD. Then famine came, and on the edge of Egypt fear did the planning: “Please say you are my sister.” Tell God honestly where fear is shaping your choices. Ask Him for courage to tell the truth, and to trust Him to keep what He has promised.
The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife?
Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.
Question
Quick question
Genesis tells us exactly how old Abram was when he obeyed God’s call.
How old was Abram when he left Haran?
You’ve experienced
Genesis 12
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A verse to carry with you
Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.
Genesis 12:1–3
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